What BP's Oil Disaster and Goldman Sachs' Rip-off Schemes Have in Common

[Joanne98]

After 30 years of deregulation, it's no wonder everything from oil production to banking is messed up.

May 5, 2010 |

What do oil giant BP, the mining company Massey Energy, and Goldman Sachs have in common? They’re all big firms involved in massive plunder. BP’s oil spill is already one of the biggest and most damaging in American history. Massey’s mine disaster, claiming the lives of 29 miners, is one of the worst in recent history. Goldman’s alleged fraud is but a part of the largest financial meltdown in 75 years.

All three of these companies are also publicly-held, which means that much of the financial costs of these failures will be passed on to their shareholders, many of whom are already watching their stock prices plummet. Prominently among those shareholders are pension funds and mutual funds held by people like you and me.

That may seem fair. After all, shareholders benefitted when BP made big profits extracting oil without paying attention to a possible blowout, when Massey Energy got fat earnings from its careless coal mining operations, and when Goldman Sachs did wonderously well for its own stock holders by allegedly defrauding others. In fact, it was pressure from their shareholders seeking the highest possible returns — and their executives, whose pay is linked to the firms’ share performance — that led all three companies to cut whatever corners they could cut in pursuit of profits.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/146721/what_bp%27s_oil_disaster_and_goldman_sachs%27_rip-off_schemes_have_in_common

[OHdem10]

1. They pushed and pushed until there was hardly any Reglation of

their respective Industries. De regulation meant they could
write their own rules and play their own games. No oversight
from Congress or the Regulators gave them complete freedom to
destroy themselves.

[WhiteTara]

2. yes, 30 years with 8 years of unmitigated

deregulation during the * years may be killed our world.

[Lint Head]

3. Deregulation is always a bad thing. Nothing can be over regulated.

The only complaint I've ever heard from a corporation is that regulations prevent them from doing there job or making a profit.
Obviously, if they can't make a profit or do their jobs because of the regulations related to that business they should GET OUT OF THE DAMN BUSINESS! There are exceptions to every situation but they are rare.

[Moostache]

4. I disagree....

The de-regulation craze is merely a symptom of the disease.

The disease itself is greed - manifest through slavish devotion to PROFITS above all else - and a bastardized philosophy of Adam Smith mish-mashed with Ayn Rand.

The resulting mutant IS the problem and it has used de-regulation as a kind of food on which to grow and draw strength. Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE of money above all else IS the root of all evil.

Not free-markets (our markets are ANYTHING but free now), not 'capitalism' (what we currently living under is more oligarchy than capitalism or representative republic), not even politics (although our current system has become one of the bought-off and the bought-off AND insane).

[glitch]

5. Total System Failure. Cancer is the metaphor perfectly realized.

Can we get an antibody here? Anyone?

[ipaint]

6. Here is an example of why we can't get real regulations even when democrats are in control.

Industry campaign contributions and bundling.

Top Five Lobbyist Bundlers Revealed; Four Worked Exclusively for Democrats

Prolific lobbyist Anthony T. “Tony” Podesta, 65, ranks second on the list with $394,800 in bundled donations. One of GQ’s 2009 “50 Most Powerful People in D.C.”, Podesta is wired into the Democratic establishment — his brother John served as Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff and more recently acted as President Barack Obama’s transition team co-chair while running the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning DC-based think-tank.Tony Podesta personally donated at least $84,750 to Democratic campaigns and committees this cycle alone, including a total of $50,000 donated to the DCCC. Over the same period, he bundled $142,900 for the DCCC and $102,000 to its sister Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). His wife, Heather, is a successful lobbyist in her own right and bundled another $25,000 to the DCCC and $79,750 to the DSCC respectively. Podesta also bundled $78,400 for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and $41,000 for Sen. Patty Murray. His numerous clients cover the gamut of major issues facing Congress, but Podesta has had an especially lucrative year lobbying on health reform — a recent Center investigation revealed Podesta’s firm had the fourth-largest number of clients concerned with the issue. Podesta’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2048/


And lo and behold...


TPM's Tour Of The Oil Spill Flack Universe -- Who's On Damage Control?

Roll Call reported today (sub. req.) that London-based BP has five outside firms and is using social media to push the PR effort. Politico reported today that BP CEO Tony Hayward hosted Gulf Coast reporters for a Q&A session at the firm's Washington office.

Among the best-known BP reps in Washington is Tony Podesta, brother to former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta. Tony's The Podesta Group lobbies on behalf of BP. We asked their role in the oil spill and they referred all calls back to BP. But we know Podesta has the ear of the White House and of his brother's liberal and influential Center for American Progress.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/oil_spill_damage_control_--_bp_has_wide_net_of_fir.php

Until we can rid our election system of the legal bribery our votes aren't going to do much.

[flyarm]

7. what it means to me is ..two parties are an illusion..there is one big party with one big money pot

in the middle..and you are not invited to their parties!!